Category Archives: France

France

Overnight Ferry to Caen France

We took a ferry called “Mont St. Michel” across the English Channel to Caen France.  The ferry was named after the Normandy town of Mont St Michel. The ferry is quite large and can hold up to 2,200 passengers and has vehicle storage of over 2km long.

We were taking the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Caen.

Map of the trip across the English Channel

This was our first overnight ferry and didn’t know what to expect. We boarded the ferry around 8 pm and was surprised at the quality of the ship. We walked throughout the ship exploring the different areas. It was more like a cruise ship in some aspects with a games room for children, shops and a disco bar for the adults. There were even two cinema theaters on the ferry.

One of the lounge areas on the ferry
Lobby in front of one of the cinemas on the ferry

We went to the upper decks of the ship and explored the outside areas. We found an outside patio that provided a great view from the upper deck.

Outside patio area on the ferry

We went to the highest deck and admired the view.

Shelley, Anne, Jim and Ray on the top deck of the ferry

We watched the vehicles loading onto the ferry. It was astounding how many vehicles boarded the ferry.

Vehicles loading into the ferry

After exploring the ferry we headed back to our cabin. We were surprised at the cabin and how comfortable the room was.

Cabin accommodations on the ferry

There was an a la carte restaurant, called “Les Romantiques.”

Restaurant on the ferry

We enjoyed breakfast before disembarking in Caen, France.

“Au revoir et passe une bonne journée”

France

Driving in Paris

We saw first hand just how intense and dangerous it can be to drive in Paris.  We were on the Hop-on bus touring the city of Paris and watched how the drivers navigated the streets.  The traffic is heavy and there are numerous scooters and motorcycles on the roads.

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Heavy traffic in downtown Paris

Some of the streets are multi-lane up to four or five lanes wide.

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The motorcycles and scooters swerve through traffic sometimes in very dangerous maneuvers.

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Motorcycles passing on the right of the bus and cutting off pedestrians crossing the road in Paris.

In order to demonstrate the intense traffic and dangerous driving of some motorist in Paris, we made a short YouTube video. The video is quickened to not be too long but you will get a good sense of the driving there. Take a look at the YouTube video and let us know what you think.

https://youtu.be/oeW-iZl1dhE

“Au revoir et bonne journée”

 

France

A walk to Sacre-Coeur Church

We stayed at a nice hotel in Paris called “Hotel des Arts Martre” which was close to the famous Moulin Rouge.

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Moulin Rouge in Paris

We decided to take a walk from our hotel and walk up the steep streets near our hotel.  We weaved in and out of the streets working our way up the hillside.

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stairs along the way  leading up the hilltop in Paris

We eventually reached the top of the hill and discovered a vibrant area with a large plaza in the middle. There were artists of every kind selling their art in the plaza. We were even approached by different artists wanting to do a portrait of us for about 10 euros. We walked around the entire plaza admiring all the artwork on display.

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Art on display for sale in the plaza
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Artist working on some art while waiting to sell his drawings.
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People looking at the art for sale

Afterward, we headed up towards the Sacre-Coeur Church which we could see in the distance. The church as a beautiful large domed structure with an amazing view of the city.

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Shelley and Ray on the steps of the Sacre-Coeur Church in Paris

We entered the church and there was a mass going on so we did not stay. We headed outside and walked around the church area admiring the views of Paris.

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View of Paris from the Sacre-Coeur Church

Unfortunately, there was fog which made it hard to see all of the city, but it was still very breathtaking.

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View of Paris from Sacre-Coeur Church area

After walking around looking at the beautiful views we headed down the main stairs of the Sacre-Coeur church. Along the walk down we came across some interesting sights. There was a person dressed completely in white as a statue and people were having their photo taken with him for a price.

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Person having photo taken with person in white

Further down the stairs, we came to a section which had a wall with several fountain bases inset into it. This was an area where everyone gathered to sit and enjoy the view.

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Wall area where people could sit and enjoy the views along the stairs of Sacre-Coeur Church

Further down the stairs, we came to an area that had a merry-go-round. There were kids playing and enjoying the ride.

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View of Merry-Go-Round with the Sacre-Coeur Church in the background.

The walk was very enjoyable and we spent almost 5 hours walking up and around the hill enjoying the views and atmosphere.

“Au revoir et bonne journée”

France

Le Petit Musee du Chocolat

We were exploring the streets of Paris and came across a great chocolate store. The display in the window caught our attention so we went inside to check it out.

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Inside the store, there were displays of Paris monuments made completely in chocolate.  The Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris was on display at the main entrance area. It took a total 210 hours of work and contains 58 kilograms of Chocolate. The detail and size of the replica were spectacular. It was 110 cm High, 140cm Long and 51 cm wide.

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Side view of the Notre Dame Cathedral Chocolate replica
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Rear view of the Notre Dame Cathedral Chocolate replica
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Front view of the Notre Dame Cathedral Chocolate replica

Inside the store, there were other displays made completely in Chocolate. Some displays were very large and highlighted under plexiglass.

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The Eiffel Tower made completely in chocolate
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The Arc de Triomphe made completely in chocolate
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A large replica of the Venus de milo completely in Chocolate

We walked around the large store looking at all the different items of display. The store was quite large and it seemed that everywhere we looked there were more chocolate displays with great details.

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Inside view of the Le Petit Musee de Chocolate

There was a large sail ship made completely from chocolate on display near the stairs to the lower basement area.

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Front view of the chocolate sail ship on display.
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Side view of the Chocolate Sail Ship

We saw all kinds of amazing and interesting chocolate displays. They also sold chocolate and you could buy chocolate items for Halloween or other themed events.

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Chocolate ghost for sale
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Chocolate tub with chocolate turtles inside

The store was an amazing spot with some very interesting chocolates and displays.

“Au revoir et bonne journée”

France

A few days in Paris

We went to Paris which is the most populated city in France with over 2.2 million people. The city is the capital of France and a major centre for tourism, art and fashion. We decided to take the hop on bus in order to explore as much of the city as we could. The weather was very cool around 15 or 16 degrees celsius. We bundled up and found good seats on the top row of the bus.

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Louise and Brad on the Hop on Bus in Paris

We travelled throughout the day on the bus looking at all the popular sites.

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Eiffel tower in Paris
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The National Assembly in Paris

We spent approximately eight hours on the bus seeing the different areas of Paris. We travelled to the new area of the city with modern buildings and architecture. This was a contrast to what most people imagine when they think of Paris. The modern buildings were very impressive.

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AccorHotels Arena in Paris
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Bibliotheque National de France in Paris
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Unique cubed style building in Paris
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mk2 Bibliotheque in Paris

After touring the city on the bus, we decided to walk along some of the old sections of Paris.

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The walk was very enjoyable and we were able to see some of the quaint stores, cafes and restaurants. Although the day was cool, we had a very good time.

“Au revoir et bonne journée”